July 2014

Mr. Wheeler, tear down these walls: The economic case for removing barriers to muni broadband

[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler clearly wants to protect communities from state intrusion by having the legislative barriers to public-owned networks in 19 states removed or heavily curtailed.

Those who see high-speed internet services strengthening local economies, transforming medical and healthcare delivery, improving education and increasing local government efficiency agree with him.

[Settles works with Gigabit Nation]

After a terrible season, Fox is destroying the wall between networks and studios

[Commentary] 20th Century Fox, the corporation that owns the Fox TV network, has restructured itself so that Dana Walden and Gary Newman, co-presidents of 20th Century Fox TV, will now head up the Fox Television Group, which will oversee both the studio and network sides of the business.

Twin forces are pushing more and more networks toward owning more and more of their own content (or, more accurately, licensing content from corporate siblings). The first is that the ratings for network television are collapsing at an astonishing rate, at least for live broadcast. The second is that there are many, many more ways to make money off of a program on the studio side now.

Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Gigabit Network Plans

Time Warner Cable issued touted the gigabit network it proposes to deploy in the city of Los Angeles. The company’s proposal came in the form of a response to a request for information (RFI) issued last year by the City of Los Angeles a network operator to build a gigabit network throughout the city at the operator’s own expense.

TWC’s response includes:

  • Detailed information on TWC network upgrades that are already underway that will deliver up to 300 Mbps to all of the company’s customers by the end of 2014
  • Details about the company’s transformation to an all-digital network in LA
  • A catalog of TWC’s current fiber-based broadband and Ethernet solutions that already serve businesses and anchor institutions in the community with multi-gigabit connections
  • Details on TWC’s continuing deployment of public Wi-Fi hotspots that are free to the majority of TWC broadband customers

Aereo’s in a Catch-22 when it comes to cable, rules are rigged against internet TV

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Aereo, whose service helped subscribers stream TV signals, is like the cable companies that need a license to transmit over-the-air TV. But when Aereo responded by trying to buy such a license, the Copyright Office stated it is not a cable service -- leaving the start-up in a legal no-man’s land where it is likely to die.

The situation sums up the surreal world of TV regulation, which is built on an outdated set of rules that serve to entrench the current model of TV distribution. Under this model, broadcasters charge to stick consumers with bloated bundles of channels, and newer internet services like Aereo get frozen out altogether. Used as a sword, the retransmission consent rules mean the broadcasters can cause a channel to “go dark’ for months until a cable service agrees to pay a fee.

The New Value of Old-School News

Broadcasters are increasingly focused on enterprise reporting, which means local officials intent on malfeasance may have a tougher go of it.

Industry watchers offer a number of reasons for the I-team influxes: The recession is well behind us, and stations are flush with election money; amid a prolonged distaste for dysfunction in Washington, consumers demand greater accountability from their local politicians; and newspapers, long the local municipal watchdog, are increasingly ill-equipped to play that role.

BBC ordered to tackle ‘gender imbalance’ among presenters

The BBC has been told to tackle a continued “gender imbalance” among its presenters and talent following sustained criticism that it is failing to put enough women on air.

The BBC Trust called on management to come up with a co-ordinated plan to tackle the shortcomings, despite various initiatives announced by director general Tony Hall since he took on the job in 2013. The trust also flagged up an unexplained pay differential at the corporation although moves have been made to reduce the gender pay gap.

Slim's Asset Sales Has People Wondering What He'll Buy Next

Billionaire Carlos Slim's move to pare his telecom empire in Mexico is raising questions about what his intentions might be north of the border. The company's TracFone unit offers prepaid-mobile service and is the fifth largest US wireless provider, selling service under seven brands, including the Straight Talk brand sold at Wal-Mart Stores.

TracFone continues to grow via a string of acquisitions of small, prepaid carriers and provides Slim with a brand and a US foothold should he choose to expand. The business now rents space on networks from big carriers like AT&T and Sprint. With the continuing consolidation of the US telecom market, it is unclear if Slim would want to take a larger role in the business.

Annual Media & Telecom Symposium

Rainbow PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund
December 4-5, 2014
http://rainbowpush.org/pages/legacy2014



July 21, 2014 (Net Neutrality; Ownership)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014

Upcoming events http://benton.org/calendar


NETWORK NEUTRALITY
   OTI and Benton Foundation Argue for Strong Open Internet Protections Under Title II Authority - Danielle Kehl op-ed
   ALA brings library lens to network neutrality debate in FCC public comments - press release
   Free Press Builds Definitive Case for Net Neutrality - press release
   Rainbow PUSH, MMTC: Title II Could Harm Diversity
   NAACP on Net Neutrality: FCC Should Use Sec. 706
   AT&T supports a “fast lane” ban as long as it contains a giant loophole
   Verizon claims common carrier rules would require Web services to pay ISPs
   FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel weighs in on net neutrality
   Michael Copps, former FCC commissioner, on net neutrality

MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Congress should pass online sales tax bill - San Jose Mercury editorial
   Why the consumer is still held hostage in peering disputes - analysis
   Did Verizon accidentally admit it's slowing down Netflix traffic? Level 3 thinks so
   How Comcast became a powerful -- and controversial -- part of the Internet backbone
   Seattle Considering Municipal Broadband [links to web]
   Google Talks Up Fiber Expansion Plans [links to web]
   AT&T, CenturyLink and competitors are divided on dark fiber potential [links to web]

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   FCC/NTIA Coordination Procedures In The 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz Bands - public notice
   AT&T, Google and others pick apart FCC's 3.5 GHz spectrum-sharing scheme
   Mobile Carriers Charging Differently, But Still Finding Plenty of Ways to Make Money [links to web]
   Wireless Operators' Growing Pains [links to web]
   Consumers Appear Uncertain About Connected Cars [links to web]
   Verizon 100 Gbps Switched Ethernet Access Trial Completed [links to web]

TELECOM
   FCC Continues Important Work of Providing Relief from the High Cost of Inmate Calling - press release

CONTENT
   Amazon Introduces Subscription Service for Kindle
   Artists Press for Their Share [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   The Media Merger Arms Race - NYTimes editorial
   Smaller Cable Networks Plan Their Survival Under the Feet of Giants
   Riding the Juggernaut That Left Print Behind
   Fox and Time Warner Need Each Other - Susan Crawford op-ed
   Fox-Time Warner Could Own a Quarter of 18-to-49-Year-Old Cable Viewers [links to web]
   Time Warner is girding to fight Murdoch's takeover offer [links to web]
   Rupert Murdoch Won't Be Buying Chicago Tribune or LA Times [links to web]
   CBS chief interested in acquiring CNN [links to web]

LABOR
   Silicon Valley barriers, not lack of skills, impede diversity - op-ed
   A Tough Corporate Job Asks One Question: Can You Hack It? [links to web]

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   Federal Communications Commission too poor to build a good website [links to web]

AGENDA
   FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For August 2014 Open Meeting - press release
   House To Vote On STELAR Satellite Bill [links to web]
   House Communications Subcommittee Considers LPTV Bill [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Microsoft Tangles With Justice Department [links to web]
   Verizon FiOS Enhances Bandwidth for Uploads [links to web]
   Tribune newspapers worth $635 million, analyst says [links to web]
   Forbes Said Valued at $475 Million in Sale to Foreign Group [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Apple scolded by Europe over in-app purchase protections [links to web]
   The Guardian view on Edward Snowden's challenges for society - editorial [links to web]
   Google aimed to build ultrafast broadband in Britain [links to web]

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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

OTI AND BENTON TEAM ON OPEN INTERNET FILING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Danielle Kehl]
[Commentary] Over the past few months, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received over a million net neutrality comments—a reflection of the broad and vocal interest around the country in the debate over the best path forward for strong open Internet protections. Yesterday, New America’s Open Technology Institute added our voice to the conversation, filing joint comments with the Benton Foundation in the Open Internet docket. We urge the FCC to craft strong new rules that protect users against the full scope of harms on all platforms, arguing that reclassifying broadband as a Title II telecommunications service is the clearest and most legally sound way to achieve this important goal.
http://benton.org/node/194979
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ALA BRINGS LIBRARY LENS TO NETWORK NEUTRALITY DEBATE IN FCC PUBLIC COMMENTS
[SOURCE: American Library Association, AUTHOR: Press release]
The American Library Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt the legally enforceable network neutrality rules necessary to fulfill library missions and serve communities nationwide. The ALA joined 10 other national higher education and library organizations in filing joint public comments with the FCC. For instance, the FCC should:
Explicitly apply open Internet rules to public broadband Internet access service provided to libraries, institutions of higher education and other public interest organizations;
Prohibit “paid prioritization;”
Adopt rules that are technology-neutral and apply equally to fixed and mobile services;
Adopt a re-defined “no-blocking” rule that bars public broadband Internet access providers from interfering with the consumer’s choice of content, applications, or services;
Further strengthen disclosure rules;
Charge the proposed ombudsman with protecting the interests of libraries and higher education institutions and other public interest organizations, in addition to consumers and small businesses;
Continue to recognize that libraries and institutions of higher education operate private networks or engage in end user activities that are not subject to open Internet rules; and
Preserve the unique capacities of the Internet as an open platform by exercising its well-established sources of authority to implement open Internet rules, based on Title II reclassification or an “Internet reasonable” standard under Section 706.
benton.org/node/195045 | American Library Association
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FREE PRESS OPEN INTERNET FILING
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
In its filing in the Federal Communications Commission's open Internet proceeding, Free Press provides the definitive argument for protecting Net Neutrality by reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers. The 150-page filing lays out a detailed rationale for reclassification while skewering the FCC's ongoing efforts to avoid using the Title II approach. It also presents economic data demonstrating that common-carriage rules have coincided with the healthiest periods of investment and growth in the telecommunications sector. "Common carriage is the glue that holds the Network Compact together and is the DNA of Network Neutrality," writes Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner. "The people grant private companies the ability to build wealth off of their use of our public land and airwaves. In return for this, we expect that access to essential communications services is made available to all without undue discrimination." Free Press' filing exposes one of the most persistent lies in Washington: that common carriage is a heavy-handed regulation that transforms profitable communications businesses into cash-strapped, government-run utilities.
benton.org/node/195060 | Free Press
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COULD TITLE II HARM DIVERSITY?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rainbow PUSH, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council and three dozen other minority advocacy organizations filed joint comments at the Federal Communications Commission arguing that reclassifying Internet access under Title II common carrier regulations would "harm communities of color." The groups brand Title II an out-of-date regulatory structure that would increase consumer prices, slow broadband adoption, potentially choke innovation and diminish investment, lead to years of regulatory ambiguity and litigation. "Overly burdensome regulations treating broadband as a public utility would institutionalize second class digital citizenship, needlessly delaying the digital inclusion goals sought by communities of color," they said. "This result would harm both consumers of color and minority entrepreneurs, for whom the Internet has been their easiest path to entry to bring new content to their communities and the nation."
benton.org/node/195157 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NAACP ON NET NEUTRALITY: FCC SHOULD USE SEC. 706
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)and Communications Workers of America want the Federal Communications Commission to use its existing Sec. 706 authority to justify new open Internet regulations that essentially recreate the success of the old ones. In comments to the FCC on its proposed new network neutrality rules, they said the FCC should follow the advice of the DC court. "The Court affirmed the FCC’s legal authority to ground its Open Internet rules in Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, and suggested that no blocking and anti-discrimination rules based on a 'commercially reasonable' standard would be legally sound. The Commission should take this approach to protect a free and Open Internet," they said.
benton.org/node/195047 | Broadcasting&Cable
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AT&T SUPPORTS A “FAST LANE” BAN AS LONG AS IT CONTAINS A GIANT LOOPHOLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
The common wisdom is that the Federal Communications Commission can't issue stronger open Internet rules unless it re-classifies broadband as a telecommunications service, which would open ISPs up to utility-style, common carrier regulations under Title II of the Communications Act. AT&T has vehemently argued against Internet service being treated like a utility. And now, despite that court ruling, AT&T claims that the FCC can ban fast lanes or "paid prioritization" without reclassifying broadband. However, AT&T's argument includes a big loophole that would actually allow extensive paid prioritization. AT&T claims the FCC could implement a fast lane ban and still comply with the court ruling "by concluding that paid prioritization is a per se commercially unreasonable practice under the theory that it threatens the open Internet."
benton.org/node/195027 | Ars Technica | The Hill
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VERIZON CLAIMS COMMON CARRIER RULES WOULD REQUIRE WEB SERVICES TO PAY ISPS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Verizon is making an alarmist argument in its response to the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality proposal. Classification of broadband as a common carrier service -- a step called for by public interest groups who want to prevent Internet service providers (ISPs) from charging Web services for faster access to consumers -- would instead require ISPs to charge Netflix, YouTube, and other Web services for network access, Verizon claims. In addition, Verizon thinks the new no-blocking rule could end up being too strict if the FCC applies what's known as a "reasonable person" standard. Verizon's take on the FCC's new net neutrality proposal is an important one, because Verizon is the company that sued the FCC over its original neutrality rules from 2010, winning a ruling that invalidated most of the rules.
benton.org/node/195025 | Ars Technica
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FCC COMMISSIONER WEIGHS IN ON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Boston Globe, AUTHOR: Hiawatha Bray]
Of all the issues before the Federal Communications Commission, none has triggered such tremendous public response as the agency’s proposal on so-called network neutrality, in which Internet providers would be required to treat all online traffic alike. One of three Democrats on the five-member commission, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel broadly supports prohibiting providers from favoring one form of Internet traffic over another. “If you want to be able to go and do something on a legal website, your broadband provider shouldn’t impede your ability to do so,” Commissioner Rosenworcel said. But how much federal regulation would be needed to meet this goal? Many net neutrality advocates want to see the Internet regulated as a public utility, as the phone companies once were. Commissioner Rosenworcel seemed reluctant to go that far. While there’s plenty of online innovation, she said, there isn’t as much competition among Internet providers.
benton.org/node/195031 | Boston Globe
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MICHAEL COPPS, FORMER FCC COMMISSIONER, ON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Joe Garofoli]
The public has blistered the Federal Communications Commission with a record 780,000 responses to its proposal that Internet service providers no longer be required to treat all online traffic equally. But does the onslaught -- more than the agency has received for any proposed rule change -- even matter to the five commissioners who are expected to consider it in late 2014? "I can tell you that I didn't go read all 3 million of those messages, but I knew they were there," former Commissioner Michael Copps said, referring to a similar deluge that were sent to the FCC, Congress and elsewhere in Washington when the commission considered loosening media ownership rules a decade ago. "But did they make an impact? You bet they made an impact. There was no question about it." Copps, who served on the commission from 2001 to 2011, has long been a fierce advocate for preserving net neutrality and an opponent of further media consolidation.
benton.org/node/195029 | San Francisco Chronicle
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MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND

ONLINE SALES TAX BILL
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] It's been nine years since Congress first took up online shopping's unfair sales tax advantage over brick and mortar retailers. But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) says more debate is needed before Congress can set rules for states to collect sales tax on Internet purchases. Say what? Nine years isn't enough to deal with what in 2005 we called the most widespread form of tax evasion in America? And we thought the Senate was supposed to be the deliberative body. But the Senate in 2013 passed bipartisan legislation setting uniform rules for collecting the tax to put online markets on a level playing field with Main Street stores. The House needs to pass this legislation before it leaves for its five-week summer recess at the end of July.
benton.org/node/195177 | San Jose Mercury News
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WHY THE CONSUMER IS STILL HELD HOSTAGE IN PEERING DISPUTES
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] The core of the ongoing peering disputes between ISPs and Netflix isn’t that Verizon is trying to protect its own economic interest by charging Netflix, whose traffic might ultimately force it invest in network upgrades to meet consumer demand. It’s that Verizon is effectively a duopoly provider of an essential service. Consumers have to use Verizon, or likely one of the other large ISPs that is economically threatened by streaming video traffic, and Netflix has to find some way of getting its bits onto Verizon’s network in order to serve subscribers who can’t leave the network. Both have an economic interest is prevailing and both can make effective arguments about how the other is in the wrong. Thus, the consumer is basically a hostage in the ongoing Verizon and Netflix negotiations.
benton.org/node/195059 | GigaOm
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DID VERIZON ACCIDENTALLY ADMIT IT'S SLOWING DOWN NETFLIX TRAFFIC? LEVEL 3 THINKS SO
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Ben Popper]
What is causing the Internet congestion that is degrading service to Netflix consumers? Level 3 -- which helps carry that Netflix traffic to Verizon's network in Los Angeles -- says the problem could be solved in five minutes and for a very small cost, but that Verizon is refusing to make these upgrades, because it wants to extract a fee from Level 3 instead. Verizon's story matches up pretty well with the one being pushed by Netflix and Level 3. It's saying that Netflix traffic has overwhelmed the points of connection between the ISP and the middlemen who deliver this data for the streaming video giant. The key difference is that Verizon says Netflix could solve this problem easily by spreading its traffic over multiple transit providers. Level 3 is arguing that the best solution would be to simply upgrade Verizon's network, a process it claims to have offered to pay for.
benton.org/node/195023 | Verge, The
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HOW COMCAST BECAME A POWERFUL -- AND CONTROVERSIAL -- PART OF THE INTERNET BACKBONE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
There’s no bigger Internet service provider in the United States than Comcast, and perhaps none is more controversial. Comcast has built a network that is a huge part of the Internet backbone in the United States. Barry Tishgart, the vice president of Comcast Wholesale network services, argued that Comcast’s opponents are distorting the facts when they say Netflix’s payment to Comcast was unprecedented and when they claim that Comcast shouldn’t receive such payments because it doesn’t operate a “global” network that connects to every part of the Internet. It was “frustrating” that “people made the deal between Comcast and Netflix out to be unprecedented or new, that a content company—Netflix is an aggregation of a lot of content—would have a deal with a Comcast, but in fact that's been going on for a long time, and it's also been widely reported,” Tishgart said.
benton.org/node/195004 | Ars Technica
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

COORDINATION PROCEEDURES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
In March 2014, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules that will make available significantly more spectrum for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). The rules are a milestone in providing commercial access to new spectrum bands through a spectrum-sharing arrangement with incumbent federal users. As part of that arrangement, the Commission’s AWS-3 rules require successful coordination with Federal incumbents prior to operation in Protection Zones (also referred to here as coordination zones). By this Public Notice the Commission, through its Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provide (i) information for potential bidders in the AWS-3 auction and (ii) guidance to the ultimate AWS-3 licensees and the affected Federal incumbents regarding coordination between Federal and non-Federal for shared use of the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands. The joint nature of this Public Notice reflects intersecting jurisdictions of the Commission (commercial users) and NTIA (Federal users) in these bands.
FCC Commissioner Pai said: “My position is simple. I can’t cast an informed vote on new coordination zones if I don’t know what those coordination zones are. Voting first and then learning about what you’ve voted on is irresponsible. Unfortunately, others disagreed; the item was pulled from the full Commission and pushed out at the Bureau level today. This is no way to run a railroad.
benton.org/node/195160 | Federal Communications Commission | Commissioner Pai
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AT&T, GOOGLE AND OTHERS PICK APART FCC'S 3.5 GHZ SPECTRUM-SHARING SCHEME
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Tammy Parker]
The Federal Communications Commission has a lot of work ahead if it hopes to create consensus around its plans for a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) at 3.5 GHz, as specific parts of its proposed rulemaking have come under attack from multiple corners. Wireless industry players that sent in comments were largely supportive of efforts to engage spectrum-sharing techniques to open the band for use by both government and commercial users. The spectrum-sharing concept provided a rare point of general agreement, however, with many details of the FCC's proposal drawing considerable debate. The FCC intends to apply spectrum sharing to 3550-3650 MHz spectrum and is also pondering extending the service to 3700 MHz, providing a total of 150 MHz of spectrum for the CBRS.
benton.org/node/195010 | Fierce
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TELECOM

PROVIDING RELIEF FROM HIGH COST OF INMATE CALLING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Kalpak Gude]
On July 9, 2014 the Federal Communications Commission held a workshop to analyze the impact of, and discuss issues relating to, ongoing reforms of Inmate Calling Services (ICS). By holding this workshop, the FCC highlights its continued commitment to ensure just, reasonable and fair rates, by hosting frank and open discussions with groups representing diverse points of view, including ICS providers, public policy leaders, elected officials, correctional facility officials, human rights organizations, and inmate advocacy groups. We heard about the impact that the Commission’s reforms have had on inmates and their friends and families, but also learned that there is more to be done.
benton.org/node/195158 | Federal Communications Commission
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CONTENT

AMAZON INTRODUCES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE FOR KINDLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alexandra Alter]
After months of speculation, Amazon has announced that it was introducing a digital subscription service that allows subscribers to download unlimited e-books and digital audiobooks for $9.99 a month. The service, Kindle Unlimited, offers a Netflix style, all-you-can-read approach to a library of more than 600,000 e-books, including blockbuster series like “The Hunger Games” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” nonfiction titles like Michael Lewis’s “Flash Boys,” and literary fiction and classics.
benton.org/node/195037 | New York Times | Washington Post
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OWNERSHIP

THE MEDIA MERGER ARMS RACE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The news that 21st Century Fox recently offered to buy Time Warner for $80 billion should make clear -- if there had been any doubt -- that consolidation in the media and communications industries begets more consolidation. Reports of the proposed deal, come on the heels of two blockbuster mergers that are awaiting government approval: Comcast’s $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV. If those deals to go forward, media companies like Fox, which owns cable networks like Fox News and Fox Sports, and Time Warner, which owns HBO, TBS and a number of other cable networks, would naturally try to get bigger themselves. They know that doing so would improve their bargaining positions in future contract negotiations with Comcast and AT&T about the price of TV programming. Regulators should know that any decision to approve the pending telecommunications mergers will undoubtedly lead to more consolidation and higher prices.
benton.org/node/195182 | New York Times
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SMALL CABLE NETWORKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Emily Steel, David Gelles]
Cable television groups are bracing for profound changes as a series of momentous mergers are set to transform the media world. The transactions would create ever-larger conglomerates, leaving smaller cable television network groups more vulnerable as independent companies, industry executives and analysts say. And questions loom as to whether these networks will also be gobbled up by the biggest players, or if the competitive landscape will push some of them off a television dial that is already crowded. These transformational deals are just one of several threats facing the smaller cable television network groups. The proliferation of media has made attracting audiences increasingly difficult. The advertising market is sluggish. Perhaps most worrisome are the direct challenges from Silicon Valley and Seattle, as Netflix, Google’s YouTube and Amazon continue their aggressive expansion into original programming.
benton.org/node/195180 | New York Times
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP WITHOUT PRINT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] Even though 21st Century Fox and Time Warner were built on print franchises -- Murdoch’s newspaper empire, and the storied Time Inc. magazine brand -- neither owns print assets anymore. In fact, 21st Century Fox is in a position to make a deal and Time Warner is an attractive target partly because they both got rid of slow-growth print divisions. To the extent that the proposal offered a crystal ball on the future of media, print doesn’t seem as if it will be much a part of it. Nothing can compete with the shimmering immediacy of now, and not just when seismic events take place, but in our everyday lives. We are sponges and we live in a world where the fire hose is always on. But once a sponge is at capacity, new information can only replace old information. Online, we are always beckoned forward to the next great thing, often right in the middle of what we thought we wanted to read about.
benton.org/node/195178 | New York Times
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FOX AND TIME WARNER NEED EACH OTHER
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] Twenty-first Century Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch's plan makes sense, and Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner's whip-smart chief executive officer, will eventually find a partner. Why? Because even very powerful programmers such as Time Warner need increased heft to deal with the ever-more-concentrated US distribution market. To control their own destiny, to ensure that they're able to reach viewers on their own terms (rather than paying unlimited tribute to ComcastTimeWarnerCable), programmers will need all the firepower they can muster. That means having as much sports and high-value content as possible on their side of the table. In turn, that means getting bigger. [Crawford is John A. Reilly visiting professor in intellectual property at Harvard Law School]
benton.org/node/195009 | Bloomberg
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LABOR

SILICON VALLEY BARRIERS
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Freada Kapor Klein]
[Commentary] Silicon Valley has long been insular, clubby and steeped in the pernicious myth of the meritocracy. We are colorblind and gender-blind, the story goes, and we only hire the best talent available. But if we accept that on its face, are we to conclude that blacks, Latinos and women of all backgrounds are simply not as smart as white and Asian men, or that genius is disproportionately concentrated in race-based subsets of the population? Of course not. Yet, until now, so many of the solutions to the tech-pipeline problem have focused on changing behavior within the underrepresented populations themselves. The reality is that most of the barriers are structural.
[Freada Kapor Klein is co-chair of the Kapor Center for Social Impact]
benton.org/node/195173 | San Francisco Chronicle
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AGENDA

FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR AUGUST OPEN MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for August 8, 2014; The FCC will consider:
A Report and Order to streamline and update the rules governing the construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures.
A Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that establishes deadlines for covered text providers to be capable of delivering texts to appropriate 911 public safety answering points, and seeks comment on potential improvements to current text-to-911 technology, such as through better location information.
benton.org/node/195057 | Federal Communications Commission | Statement: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler
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The Media Merger Arms Race

[Commentary] The news that 21st Century Fox recently offered to buy Time Warner for $80 billion should make clear -- if there had been any doubt -- that consolidation in the media and communications industries begets more consolidation.

Reports of the proposed deal, come on the heels of two blockbuster mergers that are awaiting government approval: Comcast’s $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV. If those deals to go forward, media companies like Fox, which owns cable networks like Fox News and Fox Sports, and Time Warner, which owns HBO, TBS and a number of other cable networks, would naturally try to get bigger themselves. They know that doing so would improve their bargaining positions in future contract negotiations with Comcast and AT&T about the price of TV programming. Regulators should know that any decision to approve the pending telecommunications mergers will undoubtedly lead to more consolidation and higher prices.